A Break of Day (A Shade of Vampire #7)(53)

They all smiled at me. Anna brushed a strand of hair away from my face and said, “Oh, stop being so formal, Sofia. You don’t need to thank us. We’re family.”

Chapter 38: Derek

The floor felt uncomfortably cold against my chest. I shivered even more once the witch started her healing. It felt like a hundred needles prickling my wound at once.

“It’s done,” she said after barely a minute.

The pain had indeed vanished. I ran a hand over my back and felt the skin now smooth where the cut had been. I stood up and looked into the witch’s cold eyes. I breathed nervously before asking the question that had haunted me ever since she’d first proposed to help us eliminate the gates back in Costa Rica.

“And what now?”

She paused, her gaze on the ground.

“We leave. And we erase our own gates.” She sighed.

“But why? Why wouldn’t you want to keep your gates open just in case? If it’s true that you’re no longer powerful enough to create new gates, then…”

“Aviary and Cruor both know we have our own gates. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re not already strategizing how to storm our realm and reenter yours through them. It just makes us even more of a target than we already are.”

“And once you’ve destroyed them, you’re all gone forever?” I asked, barely daring to believe.

“Yes. At least, I’m not aware of a single witch in our realm who has retained such powers from our Ancients. It’s true that we have grown somewhat complacent over all these years…”

“All these years of piling your troubles onto us poor mortals.” I finished her sentence for her.

She cleared her throat and turned to face the opposite direction.

“Ibrahim!” she called. Ibrahim was now bending over Anna and healing her ankle. He left her and walked over to us.

“What?”

“It’s time we left. We’ve dragged out this mission long enough,” she said.

Ibrahim looked at her for a moment before saying in a low voice, “I’m not returning with you.”

“What?”

“You heard. I’m staying here.”

“But, Ibrahim, why? You’re my best…” she stuttered.

“The Sanctuary is no longer a place I can consider my home. You and its other residents… I can’t see eye to eye with any of you any more.”

“But…”

“And besides, Odelia.” Ibrahim cut her off again. “I’m in love with Corrine. I… I want to marry her.”

The Ageless’ brows rose as she gazed at Ibrahim, her mouth agape. I couldn’t tell how much of her surprise came from Ibrahim addressing her in public by what I assumed was her real name and how much came from his confession.

The silence lasted for several moments. The Ageless struggled to maintain her composure but couldn’t hide a look of hurt that flickered in her eyes.

“Very well,” she said eventually. “I see you’ve made your mind up. In that case, we’ll return without you.”

“We?” Ibrahim asked.

“Ibrahim, you brought with you a dozen other witches.”

“They too wish to stay here. That’s why I selected them. Like me, they no longer feel at home with our own kind. That includes my brother, who is now with Corrine,” Ibrahim said calmly.

More silence.

Then the Ageless said, “Very well. I’ll return alone and wipe out the gates behind me.” She placed a hand on Ibrahim’s shoulder. “I just hope, cousin, that you won’t live to regret this decision.”

“I won’t,” Ibrahim said, not flinching for a second. The Ageless was about to turn away when Ibrahim continued, “Before you leave, you need to restore Corrine’s powers—powers that you unjustly took from her.”

Before the Ageless could respond, Ibrahim began muttering under his breath and two figures appeared in the room next to him: a tall dark-haired man who strikingly resembled Ibrahim, and Corrine, carrying in her arms a small bundle.

The Ageless nodded. Ibrahim took Rose from Corrine and held the baby while she went and stood directly in front of the Ageless.

The Ageless raised both of her hands in the air and turned her palms toward Corrine. Rays of light shot out of them and hit Corrine, whose whole body jolted back as if hit by electricity. Then the Ageless lowered her hands and said, “Now, I really must leave.”

She looked around the room, her eyes lingering on Ibrahim and finally on me. She lingered long enough for me to detect a hint of regret in her cold irises, similar to that which I had noticed back at the beach hut.

And then, without another word, she vanished.

I ran over to Ibrahim as soon as she’d gone and scooped up my beautiful baby daughter.

“Aiden!” I said, excitement rising in my chest. He was still resting on the ground, holding Ben. The look of sheer ecstasy in his eyes when I handed Rose to him so that he was now holding not one, but two, grandchildren in his arms made my heart sing.

“You’ve just made an old man very, very happy, Derek,” he choked.

I realized that this was the first time Rose and Ben had met outside of Sofia’s womb. Aiden held them close so that they could face each other. Rose reached out a small hand and touched Ben’s nose, her face filled with wide-eyed wonder. A small smile spread from the corners of Ben’s lips across his face as he too extended a hand which brushed against Rose’s chin.